Teaching Modules and Courses

One of the strengths of international curricula at the Skytte Institute is the variety of modules that reflects our competencies in a particular field of study, from IT impact to energy security, EU-Russia or regional studies. These modules are sets of courses and teaching activities centered on a particular subject. The courses and teaching activities in each module designed to explore the core subject from different angles and using various approaches, with the goal to provide the best learning outcomes and expertise.

The EU's engagement with Russia and post-Soviet neighbours

This Jean Monnet modulewas developed by Professor Andrey Makarychev to support the existing MA courses in International Relations and Regional Studies as well as EU-Russia Studies. The module focuses in particular on EU policies towards Russia and the post-Soviet states. The module in meant to strengthen the University of Tartu’s teaching and learning profile in the area of EU-Russia studies.

As of 2016, a new course SHRG.02.025 “Measuring the Impact of e-Government: Economic, Political and Social Outcomes” (6 ECTS) has been developed by the CITIS team. The course was first offered in parallel in-class and online. Since then the course is offered regularly every Spring semester. The course is developed with the support of the European Union Social Fund and the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, and offered to all interested in topics related to the e-state, e-governance, e-services and solutions. The module is first and foremost aimed for students in the non-ICT-related fields of study.

In spring 2013, a new three-year teaching module, focusing on energy and climate issues in the European and global context, was launched. The module targeted a multidisciplinary group of political scientists, economists, physicians and geologists and functioned as a platform for open discussion. The two Jean Monnet courses entitled “Energy Security Policies in Europe” (6 ECTS) and "European Energy and Climate Policy" (6 ECTS) were offered at graduate level. The courses provided knowledge of energy policy at the national and private sector level, discussed various strategies of energy diversification and examined options for reducing risks associated with the disruption of supply. Both courses were taught in class and online.

Seasonal schools and study trips

Seasonal schools and study trips aim to complement the studies by focusing on a concrete theme or topic and take students out of their regular study environment.

Continuous education/ MOOC courses

MOOC, which stands for ‘massive open online course’, is an open-source learning tool, aimed at unlimited participation for all who want to enhance their knowledge on a particular topic, without the requirement of enrollment in an University. With their popularity growing fast, MOOCs have become an integral part of the modern educational processes, and have carved out a distinct niche on the educational market. Nowadays there are numerous e-platforms where people can choose from thousands of online courses, offered by different universities. Moreover, as it is hard to imagine any modern study programme not involving elements of e-learning, we consider online courses and e-platforms for learning as an essential learning tool and look to develop further into this area.

This first MOOC in the Institute was designed as a part of the Jean Monnet module as an introductory course to the energy policy courses, aimed at introducing basic concepts of energy security and recommended for students of various social science disciplines who might write research papers on the issue of energy security. The course brought together about 150 participants from all over the world.

EU-Russia relations: Between the Vilnius and Riga Eastern Partnership Summits

Not only has our staff has been involved in the development of several new and original MOOCs - even our students have been involved in the creation of free e-courses. This MOOC, developed by Anna Beitane (Latvia) and Givi Gigitashvili (Georgia), both 2nd year students of the EU-Russia Studies MA programme at the time, has gone viral with more than 450 students from different countries having registered.

This is an online course aimed at bringing together youth from across Europe to rethink their European citizenship. During ten weeks 140 participants from 7 countries follow webinars from professors and practitioners. They virtually meet weekly in 20 subgroups of 7 participants to explore their perspectives on (European) citizenship and how the Union facilitates civic and democratic participation of youth. All participants jointly conduct a European wide research into the perceptions of European citizenship among youth across different national and socioeconomic boundaries. In the end, a final summit is held in Brussels for the highest graded participants of the programme to interact with EU officials and present their findings. Within this project, University of Tartu is partnering with University of Osnabrück, University of Helsinki, Leiden University, Trinity College Dublin, University of Padova and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Online learning and innovative teaching initiatives

A growing number of universities have been engaged in debates on how to advance their digital capabilities in light of the most recent technological developments. The University of Tartu and J. Skytte Institute are no exception to this trend. Various initiatives to advance online learning have been developed at the institute level, which include the exchange of good practices and cooperation possibilities in online learning, the development of MOOCs and e-courses, and the organization of practical workshops in the realm of digital teaching with involvement from external specialists.

Since the fall of 2018, Catchbox (soft, complete wireless throwable microphone) became available for use at the institute. The throwable microphone is aimed at increasing students’ participation and engagement levels during the lectures, seminar sessions and other study-related activities. For more information about the use of Catchbox at J. Skytte Institute, please refer to the contact details in the final section.

Visits and exchange with best practices in online learning

Skytte Institute hosted and shared information about its activities with a number of organizations, including representatives from the European External Action Service (EEAS), Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, University of Westminster, London; as well as presented its e-learning portfolio within the framework of the training directors’ programme of the 18th European Diplomatic Programme "The EU Global Strategy: from Vision to Action" hosted during Estonian presidency of the EU Council.